Dominican Life 
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A web crossroads for the Order of Preachers
“I have been writing movie reviews for years. I am particularly interested in movies with theological insights or pastoral implications. Many films also provide a good insight into the human condition. I have been a Dominican friar for over 30 years and bring my own theological and pastoral experience to my reviews. I also see films as part of media and contemporary popular culture.” -Tom Condon, O.P. (Provincial of St. Martin de Porres Province)
Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.
Silence is the new film from acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. The film has been much anticipated in Catholic circles, since it tells the story of Jesuit missionaries in 17th Century Japan. Silence is adapted from the novel by Shusaku Endo and adapted for the screen by Scorsese and Jay Cocks. Scorsese has wanted to bring this story to the screen for many years. It has finally been released, and is well worth the wait.
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Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.
Hidden Figures tells the true story of African American women who worked in the early years of NASA. They played a significant part in the launching of the first rockets and the orbit of John Glenn in 1962. Yet, until recently, their contributions were largely unacknowledged.
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Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.
Jackie is an intense portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy in the week after the assassination of her husband, John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dallas in 1963. Directed by Chilean director Pablo Larraín, it features an excellent performance by Natalie Portman as the grief-stricken First Lady. Larraín uses extreme close-ups of Portman and other actors playing Bobby Kennedy and other members of the Kennedy and Johnson families. It’s an unsettling, yet hypnotic, look at the grief that this very public figure endured.
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Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.
La La Land has the ability to seem absolutely fresh and new, while at the same time reminding me of many other movies from the past (including everything from Casablanca to Rebel Without a Cause to Singing in the Rain and West Side Story). Writer-director Damien Chazelle employs a tremendous knowledge and respect for the best of Hollywood, and creates a truly original film. La La Land will likely be one of the top contenders for the Oscars and other awards this year.
Collaborating with an excellent technical team, Chazelle, who brought us the excellent Whiplash two years ago, makes every frame in La La Land look great. The sets, costumes, photography and editing all blend together to give the movie a bright, colorful look. Young director Chazelle takes a chance to bring the first original musical film to the screen in years. It opens with a great number, set on a Los Angeles freeway during a traffic jam. All of a sudden people get out of their cars and begin to sing and dance. What a way to open a movie!
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Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.
Manchester by the Sea plumbs the depths of human grief and sadness. It’s a tough film to watch, yet it’s honest. The movie’s characters are flawed, but real. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns that they must deal with. Grace is at work in the movie. But, as with life, grace works gradually, over time, offering hope.
As the movie opens, Lee (Casey Affleck) works as a custodian in a Boston apartment building, dealing with tenants, shoveling snow, and living alone in a one-room apartment. Through flashbacks, we learn that Lee was once married to Randi (Michelle Williams), with three children. Life seemed happy then. Now in his small apartment, Lee is stoic and sad. He walks with shoulders slumped, looking down. Lee is the kind of guy who goes to bars, drinks too much, and gets into fights.
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USA
A web crossroads for the Order of Preachers
